The summer before my last semester of college, I had homework for my portfolio class: to create 100 sketches for proposed logos for my personal identity package. I remember being nervous that I had only done 97, but I honestly couldn't think of anything else. (Of course, once I got to class, I found that many others in the class had done about 5 ... I have always been a geek par excellence!) Anyway, once we got to the class, we all had to pin up our sketches and logos and have the rest of the class critique them. I had all these great logos, things I thought were totally sophisticated and designy looking, and instead of the cool ones, the whole class pointed to the one of this little girl with braids, riding exuberantly on an E. "That's the one," said the teacher. No, no, I protested, and tried to point to something more mysterious. "Nope." said another classmate. "The E one, that's you." I think I tried again to sway the class and was resoundingly outvoted! I'd known everyone in class for 4 years and the teacher as well, so I grudgingly figured they just might know what they were talking about. :)

I wound up winning an award for my logo package, had my resumes passed around ("We can't use you for the job, but your stuff was so great we gave it to the design company downstairs") and charmed my current employer with it - I think he may still have it on his bulletin board, after 13 years of me working there!

I made a conscious decision not to draw like that anymore, and it was really, truly, okay to say goodbye to it. I realized I didn't enjoy drawing things that were cartoonish and wanted more emotion and expression. But I still love this girl, and I love the stickers and cards I had printed back in the day - I still use them when I can (after cutting off the address, phone number, and my name, which have all changed after 14 years...)